HTTPie CLI - Complete Guide for Termux (2025)

HTTPie is a modern, user-friendly command-line HTTP client for making API requests and testing web services. This guide covers the most useful commands for daily use in Termux.

Official Resources:

Website: https://httpie.io
GitHub: https://github.com/httpie/cli
Documentation: https://httpie.io/docs/cli

Basic Syntax
HTTP Methods
Request Items
Headers & Authentication
Request Body
File Operations
Sessions
Output Options
Advanced Features
Common Use Cases

Basic Syntax

http [flags] [METHOD] URL [REQUEST_ITEM ...]

Structure:

METHOD: GET, POST, PUT, DELETE, PATCH, etc.
URL: The endpoint to hit
REQUEST_ITEM: Headers, data, query params, etc.

HTTP Methods

GET Request (Default)

# Simple GET
http GET httpbin.org/get

# GET is default, so you can omit it
http httpbin.org/get

# GET with query parameters
http GET httpbin.org/get?name==John&age==25

# Alternative query param syntax
http GET httpbin.org/get name==John age==25

POST Request

# POST with JSON data
http POST httpbin.org/post name=John email=john@example.com

# POST with explicit JSON
http POST httpbin.org/post name="John Doe" age:=30 active:=true

PUT Request

# Update resource
http PUT httpbin.org/put id:=1 name="Updated Name"

DELETE Request

# Delete resource
http DELETE httpbin.org/delete

# Delete with authorization
http DELETE api.example.com/users/123 Authorization:"Bearer token123"

PATCH Request

# Partial update
http PATCH httpbin.org/patch name="New Name"

HEAD Request

# Get headers only
http HEAD httpbin.org/get

Request Items

HTTPie uses special syntax for different request items:

Syntax	Type	Example
`==`	Query parameter	`name==John` → `?name=John`
`=`	JSON string field	`name=John` → `{"name": "John"}`
`:=`	JSON non-string field	`age:=25` → `{"age": 25}`
`@`	File field	`file@~/doc.pdf`
`:`	Header	`User-Agent:Custom`
`=@`	Data from file	`data=@file.json`
`:=@`	JSON from file	`config:=@config.json`

Headers & Authentication

Custom Headers

# Single header
http httpbin.org/headers User-Agent:MyApp/1.0

# Multiple headers
http httpbin.org/headers \
    User-Agent:MyApp/1.0 \
    Accept:application/json \
    X-Custom-Header:value

Authentication

Basic Auth:

# Format: http -a username:password
http -a john:secret123 httpbin.org/basic-auth/john/secret123

# Prompt for password (more secure)
http -a john httpbin.org/basic-auth/john/secret123

Bearer Token:

http httpbin.org/bearer Authorization:"Bearer eyJhbGc..."

Digest Auth:

http --auth-type=digest -a username:password httpbin.org/digest-auth/auth/username/password

Request Body

JSON (Default)

# Simple JSON
http POST httpbin.org/post name=John age:=30

# Nested JSON
http POST httpbin.org/post \
    user[name]=John \
    user[email]=john@example.com \
    user[age]:=30

# Boolean and null
http POST httpbin.org/post \
    active:=true \
    inactive:=false \
    data:=null

Form Data

# URL-encoded form (--form or -f)
http --form POST httpbin.org/post name=John email=john@example.com

# Multipart form
http --multipart POST httpbin.org/post name=John file@~/photo.jpg

Raw Body

# Send raw text
echo 'Hello World' | http POST httpbin.org/post

# Send from file
http POST httpbin.org/post < data.json

File Operations

Upload Files

# Single file upload
http --form POST httpbin.org/post file@~/document.pdf

# Multiple files
http --multipart POST httpbin.org/post \
    file1@~/doc1.pdf \
    file2@~/doc2.pdf \
    description="My files"

# File with custom filename
http --form POST httpbin.org/post file@~/doc.pdf;filename=custom.pdf

Download Files

# Download and save (preserves filename)
http --download httpbin.org/image/png

# Download with custom filename
http --output photo.png httpbin.org/image/png

# Resume download
http --download --continue httpbin.org/large-file.zip

Read from File

# JSON from file
http POST httpbin.org/post < data.json

# Use file content as field value
http POST httpbin.org/post data=@file.txt

# JSON field from file
http POST httpbin.org/post config:=@config.json

Sessions

Sessions persist cookies, headers, and auth across requests.

Named Sessions

# Create/use session
http --session=mysession httpbin.org/cookies/set?token=abc123

# Reuse session (cookies are automatically included)
http --session=mysession httpbin.org/cookies

# Different session per host
http --session=github-session api.github.com/user

# Read-only session (don't update)
http --session-read-only=mysession httpbin.org/get

Session Location

Sessions are stored in:

~/.config/httpie/sessions/<host>/<session-name>.json

Output Options

Control Output

# Print request and response headers + body (default)
http httpbin.org/get

# Print only response body
http --body httpbin.org/get

# Print only response headers
http --headers httpbin.org/get

# Print request and response headers only
http --verbose httpbin.org/get

# Print everything including SSL connection info
http --verbose --all httpbin.org/get

# Quiet mode (success/failure only)
http --quiet httpbin.org/get

Custom Print Options (-p flag)

# H: request headers, B: request body
# h: response headers, b: response body

# Print request headers and response body
http -p Hb httpbin.org/get

# Print only request and response headers
http -p Hh httpbin.org/get

# Print everything
http -p HhBb httpbin.org/post name=John

Pretty Print & Colors

# Format and colorize (default)
http httpbin.org/get

# No colors
http --pretty=none httpbin.org/get

# Different color schemes
http --style=monokai httpbin.org/get
http --style=fruity httpbin.org/get

# Available styles: auto, solarized, monokai, fruity, etc.

Output Formatting

# JSON sorting
http --sorted httpbin.org/json

# Unsorted output
http --unsorted httpbin.org/json

Advanced Features

Follow Redirects

# Follow redirects (up to 30 by default)
http --follow httpbin.org/redirect/3

# Limit redirect depth
http --follow --max-redirects=5 httpbin.org/redirect/10

Timeout

# Set timeout (in seconds)
http --timeout=5 httpbin.org/delay/10

# Connection timeout only
http --timeout=2.5 httpbin.org/get

Proxy

# HTTP proxy
http --proxy=http:http://proxy.example.com:8080 httpbin.org/get

# HTTPS proxy
http --proxy=https:https://proxy.example.com:8080 https://httpbin.org/get

# Use system proxy settings
http httpbin.org/get

SSL/TLS Options

# Ignore SSL verification (dangerous!)
http --verify=no https://self-signed.example.com

# Custom CA certificate
http --verify=/path/to/ca-cert.pem https://example.com

# Client certificate
http --cert=/path/to/client.pem https://example.com

# Client cert with separate key
http --cert=/path/to/client.crt --cert-key=/path/to/client.key https://example.com

Custom Method

# Custom HTTP method
http OPTIONS httpbin.org/get

# Really custom method
http BREW httpbin.org/get

Common Use Cases

1. Testing REST APIs

# Create user
http POST api.example.com/users \
    name="John Doe" \
    email="john@example.com" \
    age:=30

# Get user
http GET api.example.com/users/123

# Update user
http PUT api.example.com/users/123 \
    name="John Updated"

# Delete user
http DELETE api.example.com/users/123

2. GitHub API

# Get your profile (with token)
http https://api.github.com/user \
    Authorization:"Bearer ghp_yourtoken"

# Create a repository
http POST https://api.github.com/user/repos \
    Authorization:"Bearer ghp_yourtoken" \
    name="my-new-repo" \
    private:=true

# List repositories
http https://api.github.com/users/username/repos

3. Working with JSON APIs

# POST complex JSON
http POST api.example.com/data \
    user[name]="John" \
    user[email]="john@example.com" \
    user[preferences][theme]="dark" \
    user[preferences][notifications]:=true \
    tags:='["developer", "python"]'

# Pretty print response
http GET api.example.com/data | jq .

4. File Upload/Download

# Upload image
http --form POST api.example.com/upload \
    image@~/photo.jpg \
    title="My Photo" \
    Authorization:"Bearer token123"

# Download file with progress
http --download https://example.com/file.zip

# Resume interrupted download
http --download --continue https://example.com/largefile.zip

5. Testing Authentication

# Test basic auth
http -a username:password api.example.com/protected

# Test OAuth token
http api.example.com/me \
    Authorization:"Bearer access_token_here"

# Test with cookies
http --session=auth api.example.com/login username=john password=secret
http --session=auth api.example.com/dashboard

6. Debugging Requests

# See full request and response
http --verbose POST httpbin.org/post name=John

# See timing information
http --print=HhBb --verbose httpbin.org/get

# Test CORS
http OPTIONS https://api.example.com \
    Origin:https://myapp.com \
    Access-Control-Request-Method:POST

7. Working with Query Parameters

# Search with filters
http GET api.example.com/products \
    category==electronics \
    price_min==100 \
    price_max==500 \
    sort==price \
    order==asc

# Pagination
http GET api.example.com/users \
    page==2 \
    limit==50

8. GraphQL Queries

# GraphQL query
http POST https://api.example.com/graphql \
    query='{ user(id: "123") { name email } }'

# GraphQL with variables
http POST https://api.example.com/graphql \
    query='query GetUser($id: ID!) { user(id: $id) { name } }' \
    variables:='{"id": "123"}'

9. Webhooks Testing

# Send webhook payload
http POST https://webhook.site/your-unique-url \
    event="user.created" \
    timestamp:=$(date +%s) \
    data[user_id]:=123 \
    data[name]="John Doe"

10. Health Checks

# Quick health check
http --check-status https://api.example.com/health

# Get only status code
http --print= https://api.example.com/ping

# Check multiple endpoints
for endpoint in /api/v1 /api/v2 /health; do
    echo "Testing $endpoint"
    http --check-status https://example.com$endpoint
done

Quick Reference

Most Used Flags

-j, --json          Force JSON content type
-f, --form          URL-encoded form data
-m, --multipart     Multipart form data
-v, --verbose       Print request headers
-h, --headers       Print response headers only
-b, --body          Print response body only
-d, --download      Download mode
-o, --output FILE   Save to file
-a, --auth USER:PASS  Authentication
-A, --auth-type     Auth type (basic, digest, bearer)
--session=NAME      Named session
--follow            Follow redirects
--timeout=SECONDS   Request timeout
--verify=no         Skip SSL verification
--proxy=PROTOCOL:URL  Use proxy
--print=WHAT        Custom print (-p HhBb)
--style=STYLE       Color scheme
--sorted            Sort JSON keys
--check-status      Exit with error on 4xx/5xx

Exit Codes

0: Success
1: Generic error
2: Request timeout
3: Connection error
4: Request/response processing error
5: HTTP 3xx (redirect) with --check-status
6: HTTP 4xx (client error)
7: HTTP 5xx (server error)

Tips for Termux

Storage Access:

# If accessing files in shared storage
termux-setup-storage
http --form POST example.com file@~/storage/downloads/file.pdf

Clipboard Integration:

# Copy response to clipboard
http httpbin.org/json | termux-clipboard-set

# POST from clipboard
termux-clipboard-get | http POST httpbin.org/post

Aliases (add to ~/.bashrc):

alias get='http GET'
alias post='http POST'
alias put='http PUT'
alias delete='http DELETE'
alias api='http --session=api'

Environment Variables:

# Set default HTTPie config
export HTTPIE_CONFIG_DIR=~/.config/httpie

# Default options
export HTTPIE_DEFAULT_OPTIONS='--timeout=30 --follow'

Configuration File

Create ~/.config/httpie/config.json:

{
    "default_options": [
        "--timeout=30",
        "--style=monokai"
    ],
    "implicit_content_type": "json"
}

Troubleshooting

SSL Certificate Errors:

# Update CA certificates in Termux
pkg update
pkg install ca-certificates

# Or bypass (not recommended)
http --verify=no https://example.com

Python/HTTPie Issues:

# Reinstall HTTPie
pip install --upgrade httpie

Permission Denied:

# Check file permissions
chmod +r file.txt
http POST example.com data=@file.txt

Resources

Official Docs: https://httpie.io/docs/cli
GitHub: https://github.com/httpie/cli
Issues: https://github.com/httpie/cli/issues
Community: https://httpie.io/discord

Version Info (as of 2025):

HTTPie CLI: Latest stable version supports HTTP/2, improved sessions, and enhanced formatting
Maintained by HTTPie, Inc.
Active development with regular updates

Source: Official HTTPie documentation at httpie.io/docs/cli


---

# Explanation & Examples

## How HTTPie Works

HTTPie uses an intuitive syntax that's more human-friendly than curl:

### 1. **Request Items Syntax**

The magic of HTTPie is in how it interprets different operators:

**Query Parameters (`==`):**
```bash
http GET example.com/search q==python lang==en
# Becomes: example.com/search?q=python&lang=en

JSON Fields (= and :=):

http POST example.com name=John age:=30 active:=true
# Sends: {"name": "John", "age": 30, "active": true}

The difference:

= treats the value as a string
:= treats the value as raw JSON (numbers, booleans, objects)

2. Headers (`:`):

http example.com User-Agent:MyApp X-API-Key:secret123
# Adds these as HTTP headers

3. Automatic JSON

HTTPie automatically assumes JSON for POST/PUT/PATCH:

http POST api.example.com name=John
# Content-Type: application/json is automatic
# Body: {"name": "John"}

For forms, use --form:

http --form POST api.example.com name=John
# Content-Type: application/x-www-form-urlencoded
# Body: name=John

Real-World Examples

Example 1: Building a TODO App API Test

# 1. Create a todo
http POST https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos \
    userId:=1 \
    title="Learn HTTPie" \
    completed:=false

# Response:
# {
#   "userId": 1,
#   "id": 201,
#   "title": "Learn HTTPie",
#   "completed": false
# }

# 2. Get all todos
http GET https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos

# 3. Get specific todo
http GET https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1

# 4. Update todo
http PUT https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1 \
    userId:=1 \
    title="Learn HTTPie - Completed!" \
    completed:=true

# 5. Delete todo
http DELETE https://jsonplaceholder.typicode.com/todos/1

Example 2: GitHub API Workflow

# Set your token as variable (in Termux)
TOKEN="ghp_your_github_token_here"

# 1. Get your profile
http https://api.github.com/user \
    Authorization:"Bearer $TOKEN"

# 2. List your repositories
http https://api.github.com/user/repos \
    Authorization:"Bearer $TOKEN" \
    sort==updated \
    per_page==5

# 3. Create a new repository
http POST https://api.github.com/user/repos \
    Authorization:"Bearer $TOKEN" \
    name="test-repo" \
    description="Created with HTTPie" \
    private:=false

# 4. Create an issue
http POST https://api.github.com/repos/username/repo/issues \
    Authorization:"Bearer $TOKEN" \
    title="Test Issue" \
    body="This issue was created using HTTPie"

Example 3: Weather API

# OpenWeatherMap API
API_KEY="your_api_key"

# Get current weather
http GET "api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/weather" \
    q=="London" \
    appid==$API_KEY \
    units==metric

# Get forecast
http GET "api.openweathermap.org/data/2.5/forecast" \
    q=="London" \
    appid==$API_KEY \
    units==metric \
    cnt==5

Example 4: File Upload with Progress

# Upload profile picture
http --form POST api.example.com/profile/avatar \
    Authorization:"Bearer token123" \
    avatar@~/storage/dcim/photo.jpg \
    description="My new avatar"

# Upload multiple files
http --multipart POST api.example.com/gallery \
    photos[]=@~/photo1.jpg \
    photos[]=@~/photo2.jpg \
    photos[]=@~/photo3.jpg \
    album="Summer 2025"

Example 5: Session Management

# 1. Login and save session
http --session=myapp POST api.example.com/login \
    username=john \
    password=secret123

# 2. Make authenticated requests (session auto-includes cookies)
http --session=myapp GET api.example.com/dashboard

# 3. Update profile
http --session=myapp PUT api.example.com/profile \
    name="John Updated" \
    email="newemail@example.com"

# 4. Logout
http --session=myapp POST api.example.com/logout

Why HTTPie is Better than Curl for API Testing

Curl:

curl -X POST https://api.example.com/users \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer token123" \
  -d '{"name":"John","age":30,"active":true}'

HTTPie:

http POST api.example.com/users \
    Authorization:"Bearer token123" \
    name=John \
    age:=30 \
    active:=true

HTTPie:

Auto-formats JSON
Colorized output
Automatic Content-Type
More readable syntax
Built-in JSON parsing

Citations

HTTPie Official Documentation: https://httpie.io/docs/cli
HTTPie GitHub Repository: https://github.com/httpie/cli
HTTPie CLI Usage Guide: https://httpie.io/docs/cli/usage
HTTPie Examples: https://httpie.io/docs/cli/examples

All information has been compiled from official HTTPie sources and is current as of October 2025.

HTTPie CLI - Complete Guide for Termux (2025)#

Table of Contents#

Basic Syntax#

HTTP Methods#

GET Request (Default)#

POST Request#

PUT Request#

DELETE Request#

PATCH Request#

HEAD Request#

Request Items#

Headers & Authentication#

Custom Headers#

Authentication#

Request Body#

JSON (Default)#

Form Data#

Raw Body#

File Operations#

Upload Files#

Download Files#

Read from File#

Sessions#

Named Sessions#

Session Location#

Output Options#

Control Output#

Custom Print Options (-p flag)#

Pretty Print & Colors#

Output Formatting#

Advanced Features#

Follow Redirects#

Timeout#

Proxy#

SSL/TLS Options#

Custom Method#

Common Use Cases#

1. Testing REST APIs#

2. GitHub API#

3. Working with JSON APIs#

4. File Upload/Download#

5. Testing Authentication#

6. Debugging Requests#

7. Working with Query Parameters#

8. GraphQL Queries#

9. Webhooks Testing#

10. Health Checks#

Quick Reference#

Most Used Flags#

Exit Codes#

Tips for Termux#

Configuration File#

Troubleshooting#

Resources#

2. Headers (:):#

3. Automatic JSON#

Real-World Examples#

Example 1: Building a TODO App API Test#

Example 2: GitHub API Workflow#

Example 3: Weather API#

Example 4: File Upload with Progress#

Example 5: Session Management#

Why HTTPie is Better than Curl for API Testing#

Citations#